A.D. 30(79)

But it was Judah who pushed forward to my side. “She has many enemies in the desert. I absolutely forbid this. It is not safe. I will go.”

“He’s from the Sanhedrin, not the desert,” Phasa said. To Malcheus: “He’s a Jew?”

“There can be no doubt. There is no danger in a teacher of Law.”

“And he specifically asked for Maviah?”

“Specifically.”

“Then play your part as queen, Maviah. See to your guest. I must have a bath drawn. Saba, you will join me in my chambers. Judah, call the servants for food.”

“She cannot go alone!” Judah insisted. “She is my charge.”

“No, Judah,” Phasa said. “Your charge is now this sage. Did I not hear correctly?”

I could see that her words cut him, but she spoke before he could protest.

“Malcheus, take Maviah.” Her tone left no room for argument.

“I will wait for you, Maviah,” Judah said. “I will wait—”

“Judah!” Phasa glared at him. “Now.”

He was not pleased, but he followed her command, for he was in her court.

Malcheus led me to the same court in which I’d first met Herod. There, staring out the window with his back to me, stood a religious leader in dress I had not yet seen. A long white robe and blue mantle with many tassels draped his form in priestly fashion.

Play the queen, Phasa had said.

“Who comes to meet the queen of Dumah at such an hour?”

He turned and I saw then that it was the teacher I already knew. This was Nicodemus, who had left Capernaum for Jerusalem only this very morning. He had come to Sepphoris first.

But why?

“I would speak to you alone,” Nicodemus said.

“As you say.” Malcheus left us and closed the doors.

“Forgive me,” Nicodemus said. “It was the best way to bring you the news I have. I cannot be accused of speaking to Herod’s wife.”

“You could not have told me in Capernaum?”

“I did not know of your connection to her until late. I think you will understand. Trust me, I come as a friend.”

I might have felt discomfort, alone with a religious teacher in his regalia. Instead I felt at ease, as if I had known him for a very long time. We shared Yeshua in common.

“Why do you not speak to Judah?”

“It must be this way.”

“Yeshua sent you?”

The teacher of the Law did not respond.

“Do you know who I am?” I asked.

Nicodemus came closer, glancing at the doors. “I know that you are from the desert. I know that you are close to Phasaelis, daughter of King Aretas of the Nabataeans, and that she will listen to you. I cannot speak directly to her—there are too many complications in these matters. Neither can Joanna, for her life would be in jeopardy from Herod.”

“Joanna?”

“The wife of Herod’s chief steward, Chuza. You did not know? Joanna is friend to Yeshua and provides for his needs. She can be trusted.”

Joanna—a friend to Yeshua who was married to a man in Herod’s courts. His steward no less!

“Are there others here whom I might trust?”

Nicodemus considered the matter. “Stephen, son of Gamil. My nephew. He too is from Sepphoris and follows Yeshua. I know no one else here who follows. But Stephen is wise beyond his years and is one to trust.”

“And what message do you have for Phasa?”

“For you,” he said. “I say this only to you. What you say is your concern, not mine, you understand.”

“Then what do you have to say to me?”

He glanced once more at the doors and spoke quickly.

“It has come to my attention that Herod intends to marry Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, tetrarch of the north.”

My discussion with the love-sick Herod flew through my mind. “Marry her?”

“Yes. He was with her in Rome six months past and is with her now, along the sea.”

“That’s impossible. Herod has gone to Rome.”

“No, I’m afraid not. He’s with his brother’s wife, Herodias. And he would return in three days’ time to make a way for his marriage to her. For this he must rid himself of Phasaelis, you understand? Herodias would never stand for a second wife.”

My mind spun with the revelation.

“You’re certain Herod isn’t in Rome? How can you know this?”

“I’m certain. We may be oppressed but we are not without our means.”

My heart rose into my throat. Herod had no intention of delivering my cause to Rome. He never had.

“This is all I can say, for anything more would be speculation,” he said. “But you surely know, as Herod does, that to divorce Phasaelis would be tantamount to declaring war on Aretas.”